DEATH OF SIXTH VICTIM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24736, 13 October 1941, Page 4

DEATH OF SIXTH VICTIM

WEST COAST TRAGEDY ANOTHER PITCHED BATTLE THE FUGITIVE WOUNDED (Special) HOKITIKA, Oct. 12. The tragic happenings of the past week were added to at noon on Saturday, when Constable E. M. Best, of Kanieri, who was wounded by Stanley Graham at Koiterangi on Wednesday, died in the Westland Hospital. The deceased, who was a married man with three children and whose parents reside at Morrinsville, was highly esteemed in the community. Since Graham began his series of killings, he has not missed one day without coming down for further shooting, and as darkness fell to-night there were complete preparations to receive him should he come back again to his house. If he comes, as he. did this morning, he will meet machine guns, searchlights, and weapons of every kind. The most startling development of the week-end was another pitched battle this morning, just before dawn, in which Graham narrowly missed shooting another man and is believed himself to be wounded. Should he be killed in another fight to-night it will probably not be known before dawn, because the orders in Koiterangi to-night are that every man must remain at his post until daybreak. There will be no movements at all after dark. Some of the men in the vigil will be having their fifth night of waiting for a killer who has shot so far at nine men, killed six and wounded one. He may be wounded, but he is certainly still able to move about, since he escaped again in the dark hours just before dawn. It was eerie at Koiterangi to-day with everyone there in full knowledge that in the bush not far away was Graham, perhaps sleeping, with his rifle trained on or near his home. Army and Air Force co-operation with the police and Home Guard is now working fully, but the essential fact is that in a five-day manhunt Graham is still alive and more dangerous than ever. The police to-day forbade the giving of any information to reporters and permission was also withheld to take newspaper photographs. The complete list of victims of the tragedy is now as follows: Sergeant W. Cooper,.of Hokitika. Constable F. W. Jordan, of Hokitika. Constable P. C. Tulloch, of Hokitika. Mr R. J. M. Coulson, of Koiterangi. Mr G., Hutchison, of Koiterangi. Constable E. M. Best, of Kanieri. In addition, Mr G. S. Ridley, is in hospital suffering from a bullet wound in the hip.

ANOTHER NIGHT CLASH

A FURTHER ESCAPE VISIT PAID TO HOTEL EXCHANGE OF SHOTS HOME GUARDSMAN: NEARLY HIT (Special) HOKITIKA. Oct. i2. Friday night was the third successive night of terror and uncertainty in the district. Twice there were clashes with Stanley Graham, one at 11 p.m. when men fired from under a hall at a figure they thought they saw move stealthily and once when he to *he hotel at the break of day and escaped from the Home Guard into the scrub.

DARING OF FUGITIVE EFFORT TO REVISIT HOME CONSTABLE'S NARROW ESCAPE (Special.) "HOKITIKA, 6ct. 12. Stanley Graham came to within a few yards of his home again this morning. He got within a few feet of the defenders and after a gun battle again succeeded in escaping. The position seems to be that under coyer of darkness, Graham, with the world as his enemy, will carry on with his guerrilla warfare. That is the term which might be most aptly applied to a fourth night clash between the wanted man and the police and' the Kokatahi Home Guardsmen at the Koiterangi Hall at 4.15-o'clock this morning. As on a former occasion, in spite of the heavy odds, fortune was again on the side of Graham, and he made a dramatic escape to one of his lairs. Nearly a Seventh Victim Graham fired only one shot, but this was within inches of adding to his almost incredible chain of killings. Following heavy rain showers earlier in the night there was dim moonlight until a few seconds before his stealthy approach along an ungrowthed fence at the side of the hall nearest to Camelback mountain, which is barely a mile awav. When, perhaps most providentially for Graham, the moon clouded over the form of a man appeared silhouetted in the semi-darkness. Graham, who was definitely recognised, came to the barbed-wire fence 12 feet from the two nearest police constables, who were "dug in" on a minor scale underneath and out from the hall a couple of feet. Graham then reached over the fence, dropping a blanket, which he is thought to have secured from Mr Smith's hut, nearly three-quarters of a mile away towards Camelback. He had just placed his hand over the fence to lever himself across when there was a challenge to halt—" Who goes there? Hands up!" A Heavy Barrage There was no reply, and within a fraction of a second the young police constable nearest the corner, who had a miraculous escape, set off the first rifle shot of the heavy barrage which followed at close range. The marauder made off in uncanny fashion and dropped to the ground in a very slight depression fringing the blackberry bushes in the paddock which adjoins the Koiterangi roadway just to the right of the front entrance to the public hall and across the road from the house. Althoueh the snipers with heavy calibre rifles lost sight of Graham in a flash, they maintained firing over the confined area in the hope of bringing the hunted man to a halt. In addition, the leader of the Guardsmen. Mr Sam! Godfrey, who fired probably the most rifle shots—seven all told—seized a nearby shotgun and raked a clump of blackberries in the paddock where he thoueht Graham might be hiding quietly. One visiting policeman in the forefront of the shooting rose from his position in a poorly-built-up sandbagged dugout and went to move about. He was within an ace of being shot by Mr Godfrey, who. however, was able to size up the position in a flash and recognise that it could not be Graham.

The clashes occurred three miles from one another, the first near Graham's own home and the second across the bush and over the Kokatahi river, which it is believed Graham forded. Shot Fired from Hip Shooting from the hip the hunted man nearly added another to the list of victims when at 4.45 a.m. on Saturday he came, to the' lower Kokatahi Hotel and knocked on the door. Mr George Simons, of Greymouth, a Home Guardsman, challenged him. In the half light just before the dawn, Mr Simons fired from the door of the hotel as he raced across cleared ground for about a chain until he reached the Roman Catholic Church grounds near the hotel. Just before he rsached the fence, Graham swung round and fired from the hip, the bullet whistling past Mr Simons s head. The turn about from running at top speed to firing from the hip was made with amazing speed, and just as quickly again Graham leapt over a fence and disappeared in the scrub. Mysterious Noises

Mr Simons, almost as soon as he first saw Graham, was joined by two other Home Guard men, Mr Cecil Meharry and Mr George Cooper, both of Greymouth, and the licensee of the Lower Kokatahi Hotel, Mr S. F. Richardson, who is also in the Home Guard. They opened a running fire in the dim light, but Graham zigzagged and they did not hit him. Mr Simons was one of several Home Guard men in the hotel who had stayed up all night on a lonely vigil. A long time before the actual knocking came to the front door they heard noises, but could not tell where they came from, and had no means of finding out who had made them. When Mr Simons opened the door he saw Graham clearly silhouetted. He was wearing khaki shorts, gumboots and a black football jersey with a leather patch on the back. He is also thought to be carrying an ammunition belt Graham's left arm, Mr Simons thought, seemed to be strapped to his stomach. This lends 1 support to- the theory that he was wounded in Thursday night's clash, when two men werf killed; but that wound apparently has had no effect on his physical condition, for he leapt effortlessly over a fence four feet high, carrying a rifle. Call at Farm Hut Another sensational development on Saturday was the finding in a hut on Mr C. Smith's farm of clear evidence that Graham had changed his clothes, rested and eaten there probably throughout Friday and during the time? when the aerial search was being made. Graham knew the hut well, and had often used it in the days before he was a fugitive from justice. Mr Smith lives alone in the hut, and had left it to take part in the search for Graham, leeving the blinds up and the door open. When he came back to it the blinds were down and the door shut, and he thought he could see one corner of a blind turned up. He reported the incident, but it was not till next day that Home Guard men went to the hut. They found there a bloodstained singlet with bullet holes in the shoulder, and a black football jersey of a type Graham was known to possess. Outside the hut was p pair of trousers, also bloodstained. The bullet holes in the singlet, which was a thick woollen one, matches those in the jersey. Remains of a Meal Clear proof that someone, almost certainly Graham, had eaten in the hut was that butter and a loaf of bread were missing. From a pound of butter about three-quarters had been eaten. Guards were kept, posted near the hut in case Graham should return.

Eel-like Escape Method

Graham's typical getaway is described as eel-like, f and an extensive trail of blood found for three chains from the point where he threw himself to the ground gave graphic proof of his slow but certain path of departure.

When the police recovered the blanket which Graham carried to the scene it bore the marks of two bullet holes, but these may have been caused by members of the shooting party while it was heaped upon the ground. One of the early shots at Graham at close range tore through a horizontal fence post stay. The shot fired by Graham lodged in the side of the hall inches above the head of the policeman. It made only a small mark, and was undoubtedly fired from the Colt pistol removed by Graham from the dead body of Sergeant Cooper at the first shootings.

BOMBER PLANE RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHT BLOODHOUND EMPLOYED FAILURE OF EXPERIMENT (Special) HOKITIKA, Oct. 12. This afternoon a bomber plans made a number of reconnoitres of the district following the despatch of police and Home Guard posses in company with over .30 members of the Burnham Camp Territorial Signals Company which has established outposts and provided communication's by radio telephony over a wid3 area. The signallers were under the command of Captain H. C. Caldwell. During the early manoeuvres two of the signallers were on top of the hall with telescopes. The bomber's flight was spectacular, the machine flying low over Camelback, and in places it appeared to be just skimming tha trees. During the afternoon the services of a bloodhound were availed of. ''The dog was started off on the trail of bloodstains, the operations being in charge of Detective W. Cunningham. assisted by Sergeant Kelly, the arms expert, of Wellington, and Constable Stuart. After sniffing th. 3 bloodstains and working for a brief space of time, the dog broke away and leisurely iogged back to the Graham homestead, where he coiled up on the front veranda, which still carries the bloodstains of Wednesday right's killings. Known to be Wounded In spitejOf the visits of Graham to the scene of the tragedy on at least four occasions, doubts were expressed

SHOOT ON SIGHT ORDERS ISSUED TO SEARCHERS GRAHAM'S PROWESS WITH RIFLE (Special) HOKITIKA, Oct. 12., The tension along the country roads at Koiterangi and Kokatahi after darkness falls is almost indescribable. The blackout of the bush is greater than be achieved in any darkened city. On Saturday night possibly the only through traffic from Hokitika to the Longford Hotel and lower Kokatahi Hotel, both of which are vital points in the man-hunt, was a taxi in which two reporters and three other men travelled. Cars are about all that can move in safety, for Graham, it is thought, cannot drive, and.in any case he could not get a car as they are guarded. Orders throughout the district are for every man now to shoot anything on sight that moves at night, and to stay where thev are till the morning. In the bush at intervals last night could be seen small searchlights. An imnressive tribute to the courage and coolness of the police and the. ■.heme Guard is thai with so nr-iiy men kfyed to a hi"h pitch of nervous strain, some of them having been without sleep almost since Wednesday, there has been no indiscriminate or accidental shooting. The Kokatahi district is known for its good shots, but there can be few in New Zealand in Grjhem's class. The stories the neighbours tell of his prowess include ihe following. Graham once shot a deer between the eyes at 800 yards, a feat witnessed by two other men who were with hirr. He wis so efficient with a .22 Winchester automatic that he could shoot ducks on the wing. Even as a youth he was regarded as an extremely fine shot, and he has had constant oraciice since. Graham's collection of rifles was his pride, and he kept them. in perfect order. He also kept huge supplies of ammunition, although it is thought that hi' stocks for the seven millimetre Msuser must be ?etting low by now. In hands as skilled as Graham s, that gun can be fired at almost machine-gun speed. GROWING TOLL DEATH OF CONSTABLE BEST (Special) HOKITIKA. Oct 12. The sixth victim died at 10 o clock on Saturday morning in the Westland Hospital. He was Constable Edward

Pictures of the scene of the tragedy will be found on page 7.

mmnm:m:nnnnsm»n;:::::::nm»nn by some local residents whether he would put in an appearance to-night because of his apparent loss of blood and resultant weakness, but il is apparent from his present frame of mind that nothing would stop him from continuing in his daring practice of returning to his home. 4 It was known from the singlet recovered from Mr Smith's hut that Graham had suffered a fairly severe wound under the armpit of his left side end it is now thought highly probsble that he suffered further wounding from the rifle fire in this morning's encounter. Credence is given to this theory by the fact that over the path of Graham's gateway, which is indicated by a trail of blood, there are three distinct pools of fresh blood. A Perplexing Feature In some quarters the reported presence of Graham as for away from his home as the Kokatahi Hotel on Friday night is causing perplexity. It is claimed that there are no footmarks on the sand at any point which would indicate thst Graham had forded the Kokatahi River; but. en the other lund. there were no pickets on the Kokatahi River bridge who would have known that he had gone by this route. Had he taken this means of approach to Kokatahi it would have necessitated his travelling, not three miles as by the direct route in fording the river, but easily double that distance. It cannot be gainsaid, however, that there was a pitched battle at Kokatahi. Graham was a wounded man, and had he walked such a long way he must have displayed the fortitude of a superman, many of which qualifications he admittedly displays. He neither smoked nor drank, and his fitness was an example to many younger men. Militant Guardsmen , Upon his arrival at Koiterangi on Saturday morning, Commissioner Cummings interviewed the militant men from Greymouth who had disobeyed the police orders on the previous night, and while he thanked them for the earnestness of their efforts, he expressed regret at their apparent lack of discipline. The commissioner to-day visited the scene in company with the Minister in charge of the police, Mr P. C. Webb, and the member for the district, Mr J. O'Brien.

A POLICE EDICT BAN ON PHOTOGRAPHERS REPORTERS REFUSED NEWS (Special) HOKITIKA, Oct. 12. A clash occurred to-day when newspaper photographers were stopped from taking photographs of the police activities. When they asked the police for their statutory authority to do so, they were told not to worry about that, but just not to take the photographs. Orders were also issue'd that no information was to be given to reporters by the police, and an angry argument ensued between one reporter and Commissioner D. J. Cummings. One picture the police ordered not to be taken was that of the Minister in Charge of the Police Department, Mr P. C. Webb, inspecting the Graham house, and the detective sergeant who gave the order threatened to confiscate the camera. Detective Sergeant Davis, who has played an important part in the investigations, was taken to hospital today with measles. He has been a sick man during the past arduous four days.

NO FURTHER CLASH NIGHT VIGIL MAINTAINED (Special) ■ HOKITIKA, Oct. 12. It is understood that a statement relative to the killings and other incidental matters eventually will be made available for publication by the Prime Minister. Asked about compassionate allowances for the stricken relatives, the Minister in Charge of the Police Department. Mr Webb, said to-day that these would be psid in full to the relatives, and everything that was within the power of the Government in any way would be <ione. lit is understood that a further posse of 20 police will arrive to-morrow from various parts of the Dominion. Referring to the police organisation to-night. Mr Webb said he thought it was so well advanced that another visit by Graham would spell for him disastrous results. Up to 10.45 o'clock to-night there had been no sign oi any further clash between those lying in ambush and the wanted, man. ■ GRAHAM'S REASONING VARIOUS THEORIES ADVANCED (Special) HOKITIKA, Oct. 12. Many people have hazarded guesses as to the reasoning of Graham in the grave risks which he takes in attempting under cover of darkness to return to his home, where six men have succumbed to his marksmanship. Some persons advance the theory that Graham is obsessed about the neglect of his prize stock and his much-valued gamecocks, which continue to wander about the vicinity of the homestead; that he is concerned about his wife and two young children, of whom he js remarkably fond; and that he wishes to recover a fairly large sum of money which he left in the house, and which is now believed to be in the possession of the authorities Strangely enough, searchlights were used further down the roa'd last night, but there were none near the hall or the house. Had there been • one,Graham would have been •hot

Mark Best, who had been shot in the first killings on Wednesday, and, in spite of blood transfusions, was too weakened by his shocking injuries, to recover. '{ , Constable Best was an extremely popular man in the Koite'rangi district, and his death has been a further addition to the sorrow throughout the whole of the West Coast- at the succession of deaths and funerals while the armed killer still lurks in the bush ready to add.to his victims at the first opportunity.

IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY FUNERAL OF SERGEANT COOPER Eighty men of the Dunedin police and detective forces, and representatives of the forces in all parts of Otago and Southland, made an impressive sight in their mourning dress with its blue helmet and white gloves as they formed a Euard of honour behind the hearse .carrvihe the body of Sergeant W Cooper, a victim of the West Coast shootings, to the Anderson's Bay Cemetery, yesterday afternoon. The funeral was the largest ever accorded a police officer in Dunedin. and a long line of nrivate cars followed the police squad. The service at the chapel in Clark street was conducted bv Pastor W. D. More, and Sergeants D. Sugrue. W. Irwin (Invercargill), D. O'Carroll. S Davenport, T. Johnson, and H. Hogg acted as pall-bearers. Superintendent P. J. O'Hara. Inspector W. E. Packer, and Chief Detective T. Holmes led the funeral cortege. Wreaths were received from the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser). Ministers of the Crown, and from police districts throughout New Zealand.

FUNERALS AT HOKITIKA

, (Special.) HOKITIKA. Oct. 12. The funerals of Mr R. J. M. Coulson and Mr G. Hutchison were held to-dav sjid almost everyone in Hokitika and manv outside visitors attended. There were huge crowds in the procession on foot and in the cars which followed the hearses, including a parade of those Home Guardsmen who were not out at Koiterangi. Hundreds of wreaths were sent, reflecting the widespread symi pathv which the tragedy has evoked MESSAGE OF SYMPATHY NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE (P.A i WELLINGTON. Oct. 11. The general secretary of the New Zealand Police Association has received the following cablegram from the New South Wales Police Association concerning the deaths of the police officers at Koiterangi:— "The president and members of the New South Wales Police Association extend their sincere sympathy to the relatives and friends of the deceased comrades who lost their lives in the execution of their duty." Signed, Cosgrove, general secretary. NEW PRECAUTIONS SEARCHLIGHTS AND DUG-OUTS (Special)- HOKITIKA, Oct. 12. ... Although no official announcement was made, it was readily seen by press reporters that far-reaching improvements in the efforts to bring about the capture or shooting of Graham are to be introduced to-night. Such of these as can be divulged are that searchlights will be ready at the Koiterangi Hall in the vicinity of the Graham homestead, and that dug-outs will be built to look like dug-outs instead of the kind in use last night, when a young policeman just missed being shot. There are other additional precautions, and progressive steps such* as the use of signallers at various protected locations, and this should prove most valuable if Graham reappears tonight.

METHOD OF SEARCH PUBLIC DISSATISFACTION FUGITIVE TRAVELS FREELY (Special) Intense throughout Westland at the, fafhjre to catch Graham, and, what is more, at the events leading to the deaths pi Messrs Coulson and Hutchison in the second battle with Graham. There were no police and no experienced men in the house that night, only a young Home Guardsman, and after the tragedy Mr Hutchison, bleeding from a terrible wound, remained in the house for hours before he was rescued. Moreover, all this time the house was covered by men dug in at the Koiterangi Hall across the road. While the guards lay waiting for the next shot no one stopped the taxi with two reporters 3nd a driver which parked outside the house, while inside Home Guardsmen waited with riflei at the " ready " for the slightest movement. This is the fifth day of the search, and still Graham's whereabouts in the bush are as little known as when he first l:ft tl\e house, and he has been able to travel across country near, y 'every night and shoot his wav ,out of trouble. The bombing which was to have been done is not now thought practicable because of the wide area of the country Graham may now be in. It would have been feasible if he had kept to the small clump of bush', near his home. f ■ One suggestion is that there should be fewer searchers and that Graham should be trailed by men as good at bush craft as he is himself and stalked through the bush. It would take steel nervjs to do the job, but at the same time continual ni«ht vigils, with death possible at any minute, are taking a toll of the men now on the job. j SEARCHERS REINFORCED PARTY FROM DUNEDIN Sergeant C. King, who is attached to the Dunedin. Central Police Station, left en Saturday morning to join .the police party at Koiterangi. Apparently a concentration is being built up of members of the force with a knowledge of the West Coast country and experience of the bush. Sergeant King is well qualified in both respects. He "has stalked deer in this country, actually with Graham.as. his .companion on occasions. A party of six constables from the Dunedin Station left by car at s J>.m. yesterday to join the searchers. .They were to continue their journey to the West Coast by railcar from Christchurch. Those in the party were Constables F. Hearsey, B. Alty, J. A. Marshall, K. Thompsfln. A. Mcßae and W. Mather. .'" ■ -